7 father-son political duos: the modern dynasties

From the Benns to the Bushes, here are seven father and son political players that have made an impact across Britain and the world.

1. Benns

Tony Benn was a left-wing Labour giant who served in Wilson’s and Callaghan’s cabinets. Following his time as an MP, Benn took on the role of President of the Stop The War coalition. He passed away a couple of years ago, but his son Hilary Benn remains in parliament to this day.

Benn the younger served in Brown’s cabinet as well as Jeremy Corbyn’s shadow cabinet. He entered parliament in 1999, meaning that this father and son duo served in the Commons as parliamentarians at the same time – for two years.

2. Sarwars

Mohammad Sarwar was the UK’s first Muslim MP, and was succeeded by his son, Anas Sarwar in the Glasgow Central seat. The Labour MP then went on to lose his seat in the 2015 general election before being elected via the list in the 2016 Scottish election.

3. Kinnocks

Neil Kinnock led the Labour party into the 1987 election, and then the 1992 election. On both occasions, he lost. His son entered parliament for the Labour party at the 2015 general election and has voiced support for the UK staying in the single market after Brexit, according to the New Statesman.

4. Mundells

Scotland’s only Tory MP – until this June – was David Mundell, who currently serves as Scottish Secretary.

His son, Oliver Mundell, was elected to the Scottish parliament last May and serves as an MSP for the constituency of Dumfriesshire.

5. Lloyd Georges

David Lloyd George served as Liberal prime minister from 1918 -1922. His son Gwilym went on to serve as a Liberal MP and Home Secretary in the 1950s.

On top of that, Megan Llloyd George, another child of David went on to serve as an MP – first for the Liberals, then for Labour.

6. Bushes

Across the pond, the Bushes have long reigned supreme as a political dynasty. George H. W. Bush, one of the most experienced politicians in America, served as Ronald Reagan’s vice president before going on to win the 1988 presidential election. Defeated by Bill Clinton in 1992, he only served a four-year term, but his sons ensured his political dynasty lived on.

Eight years after Bush senior lost to Clinton, his son George, who had served as governor of Texas, won the 2000 presidential election. Bush senior and junior are the only father-son duo to have served as US presidents.

The Bushes could have made it a hattrick in 2016, but Jeb Bush lost the Republican race to Donald Trump.

7. Trudeaus

Justin Trudeau is known for his boy-band good-looks and his politically correct, liberal charm, but what many foreign observers may not know is that is father also served as prime minister. Pierre Trudeau took control of the reins of the Liberal party – and the premiership – in 1968, and soon called an election in which he increased his party’s majority.

Richard Wood

Richard Wood is a Masters student in Political Research at the University of Aberdeen and is Head of Media for campaign-group TalkPolitics. Other than politics, he is passionate about travel, running, and writing, as well as all things space-related.